The Deepest Magic Society
by Della Adler
Summary: In a few years, Audrey Cadence will ask Harry Potter to the Yule ball on a dare, then launch old cupcakes at a newspaper with his stupid face on it, and then mostly forget about the whole thing. But first she must find her place in Hogwarts, in the present and in the past.
1. Prologue

"I was lookin' back to see if you were lookin' back at me

To see me lookin' back at you."

(Massive Attack, "Safe From Harm")

As Hogwarts gossip goes, the story of the curly-haired Hufflepuff who dared ask Harry Potter to the Yule Ball, only to be met by disbelief and laughter, was fairly forgettable. Good for some ribbing in the History of Magic class that followed, but not one for the yearbooks nor for late night recollections, except perhaps those of the curly haired 3rd year Hufflepuff girl directly involved.

This book, however, is said curly-haired Hufflepuff's story. For now we won't dwell on her aborted attempt to take Harry Potter to the Yule ball. Mostly because she doesn't dwell on it herself, except with an occasional twinge of embarrassment that she shakes away with an angry toss of her red curls. No, instead, we're going to focus on Audrey Cadence before. Because this is her story, we'll start with when she first went to Hogwarts, at age 11, in September of 1992. (Also of note: this story will involve a plastic cat alarm clock, and time travel. You have been warned.)


	2. Rubber Soul

" _Know what house you'll be in yet? Imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" (Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)_

Audrey fought through the fog in her brain to stay awake, but despite her best intentions, the rushing and rocking and lilting of the train threatened to pull her under. She closed her eyes against the brightness of fluorescent lights filling the subway car, her head leaning against the glass of the window. In her mind's eye she could see the flickering of peeling posters and closed stations and tile and cement. And she could imagine the scuttling rats on the empty local tracks as she sped by. Soon she was dreaming of rats and flickering movie screens and of dipping a photo into the bin of chemicals, and coming out into the bright light outside her father's dark room, blinking from shock at the light.

And then she was jerked awake by the seizing stop of the train. Eyes open, Audrey greeted a mellow natural light and brown carpeted floors. Out the window she saw what seemed to be a weigh station of some sort, although it wasn't clear that it was an actual train stop, or if it had been, it looked like it had long ago fallen into disuse. Beyond the somewhat decrepit cement structure she could see green trees and grey skies rather than the vast and invisible underground she expected. Her stomach flipped as she took in the unfamiliar surroundings and remembered where she was.

The train compartment smelled of tobacco and grease. She was alone in the car other than a boy with messy brown hair, who sat in the far corner with his nose in what seemed to be a comic book, although it didn't look like any comic book Audrey was familiar with. Either he was absolutely engrossed in his comic book or was purposefully ignoring her.

Audrey started digging in her bag for her Walkman. Her hands closed around its comforting smooth yellow plastic and she slipped the earphones on. She toggled the little plastic play button and settled back in her seat to the familiar tones of "I've just seen a face," releasing a sigh. At least she'd always have The Beatles.

Audrey heard a clacking of doors and then another, and the door to the compartment banged open. A dark haired girl poked her head in with a shy smile. "Can I sit in here? All the seats in the earlier cars are taken." Audrey thought the girl looked just lovely. Long, wavy raven black hair like Audrey had always wished for herself, instead of her unruly red curls chopped unceremoniously off into a bob.

Audrey pressed pause and slipped her earphones off. She offered a small welcoming smile. Maybe this girl would become her dear friend. Maybe she was as unfamiliar with all of this as Audrey was. Having a kindred spirit would make all of this so much easier. And at least this girl had already spoken to her

, unlike the brown haired boy, who still refused to look up from his comic book. Rude!

"I'm Audrey," Audrey introduced herself. "Audrey Cadence." She made a point to sound as polite and friendly as possible. Take that, comic book boy.

The black haired girl sat down with relief on her face. "I'm Sybil Snow. Good to meet you! Are you new here too?"

Audrey nodded. She didn't know if she should say that this was all so completely unfamiliar to her, that she didn't even know where to begin. She opted for honesty. "Yes, very. Completely, in fact."

Sybil's eyes widened at Audrey's accent. "Oh, are you American?" The brown haired boy rustled his comic book. He seemed to be listening now too. Whatever, Audrey thought.

"Yes..." She said uncertainly.

"We hardly ever have American students at Hogwarts. That is to say, I've never heard of it! That's so exciting!"

Audrey's stomach did another funny little flip. "Is it?" She said uncertainly.

"Well, yes! I mean..." Sybil looked somewhat uncomfortable. "At any rate it's nice to meet you! I'm so thrilled to finally be on my way to Hogwarts. I've envied my older brothers and sister every year come this time. Now finally it's my turn."

Oh. So not as new to all this as Audrey then. Audrey swallowed her disappointment. Maybe it was good that Sybil knew things. "Do you know how long this ride will be?" Suddenly, embarrassingly, her stomach grumbled loudly. Sybil giggled. It could have been mean spirited but there was something about her giggle that was infectious and Audrey found herself giggling too. She broke into a grin. "I hope there will be food at the end!"

Sybil giggled again and then nodded wisely. "Oh yes, there's a big feast waiting for us, after the sorting. But I think we've got a while to go till then! Want to get food from the cart? I'll go grab us some!" And before Audrey could reply, she'd slipped out the door, leaving Audrey and comic book boy alone again in the compartment.

An uncomfortable silence took over the compartment, broken only by the train's consistent click clacking and occasional lurching. Finally the boy said "It's quite strange, you know. That they admitted you to Hogwarts, and not Ilvermony."

"What's Ilvermony?" Audrey asked, feeling foolish, her face heating.

"The American wizarding school, of course," the boy replied, as if everyone and their great aunt knew this.

"Maybe it's because I'm half British. I mean, my mom grew up in London," Audrey suggested lamely. Her stomach twisted at the thought that this was yet another way in which it seemed she had to justify her presence. But worse, when she said the word "mom" she felt her throat tighten.

He seemed to contemplate this, a calculation in his eye that Audrey didn't understand. Finally annoyed at this boy who seemed to judge without sharing of himself, Audrey blurted out, hostility in her tone, "what's your name anyway?"

But at that moment the door to the compartment swung open yet again, this time bringing Sybil with her arms full of packages of what looked like candy and something that smelled absolutely delicious and fried, stuck in little wax paper pockets. She forgot her annoyance about the unnamed comic book boy in favor of helping Sybil unload the goodies into one of the empty seats.

The three ate together in a silence that hovered between comfortable and uncomfortable. At first the brown haired boy didn't seem inclined to partake but eventually he gave a small smile that Audrey couldn't quite decipher and, muttering thanks to Sybil, he dug into a pasty. Eventually they made it to the chocolate frogs, and Audrey couldn't hide her shock at the painted yet moving image of a young woman named "Beatrix Bloxom," depicted on the card inside the little foil wrapper. Audrey stared as the young woman occasionally flipped the pages of the book she was reading with a smug expression flickering across her her face. It was like nothing Audrey had ever seen. Photos and paintings she understood; she'd roamed the floors of the Met with her parents as long as she could remember, and her father had explained the basics of photography to her a few years back, but this... well this, she supposed, was magic, and she shouldn't be so taken aback by it. But it just seemed unreal and completely mesmerizing. So mesmerizing in fact that she missed the fact that her chocolate frog, cast to the side in favor of the collecting card, started hopping away furiously, as if on the run for its chocolatey life. Sybil and the boy both dashed after it, and the boy caught it just as it was about to hop out of the train window. This time they all laughed, giddily, till Audrey felt almost light headed.

The silence that settled after they'd finished their chocolate frogs was decidedly comfortable. Her stomach filled with warm pumpkin and fried dough and then chocolate, Audrey couldn't even bring herself to feel particularly annoyed at the boy who still hadn't introduced himself. Instead, Audrey asked something of Sybil that had been niggling at her brain. "You said something about sorting, earlier, I think. What does that mean? What kind of sorting?"

Sybil frowned. "You don't know much, do you? I know you're from the United States but I sort of assumed... Are there no wizards in your family at all?"

Audrey shook her head. "No, I'm the first. This whole thing threw my parents for a complete loop."

The brown haired boy looked like he was about to say something, but held back.

Sybil explained about the four Hogwarts houses that they'd soon be sorted into, each with their own emphases and characteristics. "My family has always been Hufflepuff, except for my Aunt Celia, who was in Ravenclaw. But then she always did have her nose in a book. But Hufflepuffs pride themselves on loyalty and kindness, and I so hope I will get in. Not just because my family always has been, and my older brother and sister are. I just already feel like one, you know?"

Audrey really didn't know. She had no idea what house she would best belong in. She couldn't imagine that she'd feel she belonged anywhere or with anyone in this new world. Except maybe with Sybil, though that the more Sybil talked about the magical world she had clearly been born and bred into, the more Audrey felt like there was a huge gulf between them. Maybe Ravenclaw then, because Audrey always had loved to read, and she had a feeling that she was going to be buried in books for much of her time at Hogwarts in order to not go crazy with loneliness. Books had always been good friends to Audrey.

As if reading her mind, the brown haired boy said, "I'm sure I'll be in Ravenclaw. I can't imagine being in any of the others."

Sybil nodded, "I suppose there are some surprises, but my sister Beatrice told me not to worry, usually it works out fine. I hope she's right!" Sybil's smile seemed both commiserating and comforting. Audrey returned it even though she felt neither commiseration nor comfort. The brown haired boy lapsed into silence again. Audrey assumed he was lost in thoughts of his secure and stimulating future as a Ravenclaw.

A moment later the compartment door burst open once again, this time admitting two tall, chattering girls with matching long shiny black hair. "Oh, there you are, Sybil!" One of them said. "Beatrice and Bertram have been looking for you! They wanted you to know we'll be getting in soon. You ready to finally officially be a Hufflepuff?"

Sybil grinned, wide and easy. "Yes, yes I am! Izzy and Lucy, this is Audrey...Cadence, right? She's American! And... I don't think I got your name," she said to the brown-haired boy.

"Dashiell," he said quietly, not really returning the smile. He didn't offer his last name.

The two girls—Izzy and Lucy, Audrey didn't know which was which-barely seemed to register comic book boy-Dashiell, Audrey corrected herself. But they oohed at Audrey. "American? Where in America are you from? Why are you coming to Hogwarts? How long have you been here? I've always wanted to visit America!" It was all the same sorts of questions that Sybil had asked but said with a sort of frantic enthusiasm that made Audrey feel they really couldn't care less about the answers. Indeed, without waiting for her to reply, one of them said, "Well, Sybil we promised we'd bring you back to Beatrice right away!" And she promptly dragged Sybil by the arm out of the train compartment. The other one (Lucy?) said "Bye Anne! By Darryl! Good luck!"

And not-Anne and not-Darryl were left alone in the carriage, this time to don their robes and wait for the Hogwarts express to arrive at its destination.


	3. Sorted

_"I don't suppose Ravenclaw would be too bad, but imagine if they put me in Slytherin." (Ron Weasley, HPSS)_

"A challenge is all fun and good, but there's something satisfying about a clear cut case." The hat cleared it's throat dramatically, before concluding with a definitive, "Hufflepuff!"

Audrey's heart raced. It was all happening so fast. Unfamiliar hands now guided her by the shoulder to a long table, where fellow Huffelpuff students cheerfully applauded. She sat heavily in the seat offered to her. Some of the students at the table seemed impossibly grown up, in their long robes and confident smiles. Audrey tugged at the collar of her own robe. Her eyes were not stinging. They were not. She hadn't really wanted that badly to be in Ravenclaw, she told herself. Hufflepuff would be fine. And hopefully Sybil would end up in Hufflepuff too. Though she knew Sybil's last name was Snow, and the S names seemed an eternity away.

They were now on Cho Chang (Ravenclaw) and Poppy Caxton (Hufflepuff) and then Rohit Das (also Hufflepuff). A bit later and Roselyn Ew-something happily made her way to Gryffindor. A couple more Gryffindors, and then Arthur Johnson was sorted into Hufflepuff. The boy next to Audrey seemed to know him, because he cheered loudly as Arthur walked over and took his seat at the Hufflepuff table. The boy clapped Arthur on the back and Arthur smiled sheepishly.

As the sorting ceremony went on, with student after student finding their place at the long tables, the room started to feel impossibly hot to Audrey; a trickle of sweat dripped down her neck. No one else seemed that bothered by the lack of air, though. Audrey looked up at the strange ceiling. A moist grey night seemed to stretch above them, with clouds hanging low almost like mist. Audrey took a deep breath, trying to pretend that she was outside. She'd feel better if she were outside.

She'd mostly tuned out of the sorting but she heard the name "Dashiell Lindor" called out, and she quickly returned her attention to the stage of the sorting hat drama. Dashiell (and now she knew his last name) looked much smaller and more nervous than he had appeared on the Hogwarts Express. He walked over to the chair and sat down as if in a trance. The hat perched on his head for a few moments-longer than it had for Audrey- and then it loudly proclaimed "Slytherin!" Already pale, Dashiell seemed to turn several shades paler, if possible, till he seemed to rival the ghosts that Audrey was doing her best to ignore.

The Hufflepuff table was next to the Slytherins, and so Audrey watched with a fixed gaze as Dashiell made his way over there. Audrey noticed with something bordering on horror that there was no cheering coming from the Slytherin table. Dashiell seemed aware of this too; his face slipped into an expression of grim disinterest. Now Audrey started wondering how much of his behavior in the Hogwarts Express had been an act as well.

Audrey frowned and turned to the boy next to her, the one who had greeted Arthur with such enthusiasm. "How come they're not cheering, like, at all?"

The boy was a bit on the pudgy side, with light brown hair in an almost Beatlesesque bob and kind eyes. Audrey decided she liked him. He sighed before replying. "I think, that is I heard... That he's a muggle"

"What's a muggle?" Audrey asked. As the boy explained, Audrey became keenly aware that by even voicing this question she was announcing her own muggle status. Completely new to magic, with magic-less parents. That was her. The sad thing was that she had always thought that her parents were magical in the, you know, non-technical way. But now it turned out that they were muggles. And she was what was apparently termed muggle-born, which was clearly not a desired status among the students at Hogwarts. Well, she had already felt like an outsider. This just made it more official.

"But how did they know that he's a muggle?" Audrey asked after a moment.

The boy grimaced. "This year they circulated a... a list. The Slytherins did, that is. We don't care about that stuff in Hufflepuff. Everyone's welcome."

Audrey watched Dashiell, sitting woodenly at his chair at the Slytherin table, making eye contact with no one while the boys to his right blatantly stared and the girls across the way patently ignored him. She felt anger rise in her gut. "How awful. They're awful."

The boy nodded. "Well, yeah, some of them are pretty bad over there at Slytherin. Not all of them, though. But he's gonna have a tough time, I think."

Audrey seethed, barely aware of the other names being called. (Luna Lovegood, Ravenclaw. Ruth Mina, Gryffindor...) She imagined with great clarity herself standing haughtily, walking over to the Slytherin table and slapping the supercilious look of the face of the girl with the blunt haircut and the snub nose who was whispering to her friend and pointing at Dashiell. Audrey only snapped out of her angry fantasy when she heard "Sybil Snow" announced. Moments later, Sybil was bounding over to the Hufflepuff table, sitting down in the room made for her between her brother and sister...or at least Audrey assumed it was her brother and sister, for they both had the same full features, dark hair, and slightly rounded figures. (The phrase pleasantly plump came to Audreys mind.) Sybil gave Audrey a small smile and wave, and Audrey felt a flicker of hope burn away some of her resentment at the Slytherins.

As Audrey gave herself over to the feast that followed, exhaustion took over, temporarily clouding out any further emotional roller-coastering. It was with heavy feet and a brain too tired to really dwell that she made her way to the Hufflepuff dormitory. She did spare a glance in Dashiell's direction, but couldn't make him out among the blur of retreating Slytherins. Hopefully he'd be okay for the night. Not all the Slytherins could be that bad, all the time, right?

But despite her exhaustion, two hours later Audrey found herself staring at the moonlight making patterns on the wall of the Hufflepuff dormitory room. The designs of silvery white seemed to subtly dance to Lucinda Kindly's soft snoring. Audrey ached and she couldn't say exactly why. There were too many things to choose from.

The moonlight was enough that she could grab for the little bound book she had placed on her bedside table, the one with the cat on the front (and on each page) and for the pen that her mother had given her as a good luck gift. A fountain pen; she was still getting the hang of using it. A little bit of purple ink blotted her knuckle as she wrote.  
 _  
Dear Cat,_

 _I wish you were here beside me. Nothing makes sense at all and if you were here, at least I could tell you all if it. And you would keep ticking away. I miss your ticking. I can't sleep without it. And without the sounds of screeching tires and car alarms. It's way too quiet here._

 _I know I can write to you like always. At least there's that, and I thought it was going to be enough but now I doubt it. Maybe I should ask mom to send you to me. I know it won't fix everything, but whatever. It'll be better to be able to see you at the end of a long day._

 _Okay. That's decided. See you soon._

 _Love and tick tocks,_

 _Audrey_

Her mind finally at peace with a decision made, Audrey fell asleep as the great mahogany grandfather clock in the adjoining hallway gave a single chime announcing the early morning hours.


	4. Scones and Tears

_Life can't be easy._

 _It's not always swell.  
Don't tell me truth hurts, little girl,  
'Cause it hurts like hell,  
-David Bowie, "Underground" _

Despite her late night, Audrey awoke early to unfamiliar silence and a creaky if cosy bed. The room was full with mellow, early morning sunlight. It was tempting to stay beneath her patched quilt, in denial of the new world that awaited, a world both exciting and scary in its unfamiliarity. But after a moment spent gathering herself, Audrey left the protective cocoon of her covers and dug as quietly as she could through her old suitcase. The case had been her mom's, and Audrey loved its charming powder blue and old stickers telling of journeys passed. Now she quickly rummaged through, finding skirt, tights, and her favorite David Bowie t-shirt. If she was going to be forced to wear that robe all day, at least she could have her own personal uniform hidden underneath. She ran fingers through her bobbed hair, trying to tame it, and then, giving up on that always impossible task, slipped her feet into her doc martens and clomped as quietly as she could out of the room, away from the peacefully slumbering girls scattered in their beds, all under their charmingly mismatched yet matching quilts, haloed collectively in the golden light of the Hufflepuff basement dorm.

Exiting, disoriented, into the hallway outside the secret entry to Hufflepuff (Audrey wondered if she remembered which thingy to tap on to get back in, or if she'd never be able to return to her bed again), she all but ran into a girl leaning casually against the wall, flipping absently through a text book. Maybe she was waiting for a friend? Or maybe she too couldn't stand to be awake amidst all those peaceful sleepers?

"Hi," Audrey started awkwardly. "I'm new here." She flushed. As if that wasn't completely obvious. "Could you tell me where I go to mail a letter? Is there a mailbox somewhere?"

The girl gave a funny look but then cracked a friendly smile. "Audrey, right? I'm Juliette. Third year. There's no mailbox here. We send letters by owl. You can find a school owl over at the Owlery in the West Tower." No doubt at the sight of Audrey's increasingly confused expression (why was everything so hard here?!), Juliette seemed to take pity and offered further directions. "Best not to go through the school, though. You'll get hopelessly lost." The way she said it, Juliette made it sound like if lost, Audrey might never be found again.

"Go out that door," Juliette gestured carelessly to a stone arched door to her left, "and follow the path on your right around the castle till you find yourself at the furthest tower. That's the West Tower. Take the stairs up and you'll eventually find yourself in the Owlery. You'll know you're getting there because of the smell."

Audrey tried to hide how overwhelmed she felt by these directions, but she guessed she was failing miserably. Juliette gave her a final "good luck" that managed to sound two parts sympathetic and one part dismissive. Taking a deep breath, Audrey headed to the door Juliette had indicated and pushed, feeling cool morning air rush in as she left the sanctuary of the castle for the bracing autumn morning that awaited outside.

She made her way on the long path that wound around the castle to the West Tower, where she was told she'd find the Owlery. The sky was a vibrant blue that just seemed to reach up and up, the sun bright but with that half-heat that promised encroaching fall. There was even that smell to the air that Audrey loved so much, woodsmoke and forest and the quickly evaporating moistness left over from an overnight rain.

She felt emotionally wrung out, like a tea towel that had been twisted mercilessly. But even so, she just couldn't feel too depressed on such a beautiful morning. She found herself thankful that they had Autumn here in Scotland too, so at least she hadn't had to give that up along with bagels and cream cheese or her dad's French toast and all her other favorite things.

As she walked, Audrey contemplated the seemingly ridiculousness of her self-set mission. Frustration was building within her, tightening her throat. How could it be so hard to send a simple note to her mom? Already it was going to be too long till the letter went out, and goodness knows how and when her mom would be able to get Cat to her. Could her mom use the post office, or would she have to send Cat by owl too? She'd been prepared for the lag in mailing overseas, but how long would it take an owl to get from Scotland to New York City? Could an owl even do that? She sighed. Maybe a magical owl could. Maybe it would be instantaneous. If only.

But seriously. Was she really supposed to write her letter out and then tie it to the leg of an owl? It sounded preposterous, but so did a hat that told you who to be friends with.

Audrey persisted on her path despite her growing doubt and frustration. As it turned out, the path to the West Tower was straightforward enough, and eventually she found herself climbing up the steep stone steps to the top of the tower. She soon knew what Juliette had meant by the smell. As she climbed, the dry cool smell of stone and books was soon replaced by the smell of bird feed and droppings, like entering into one of the enclosed bird spaces at the Central Park Zoo. It was comfortingly familiar, actually. And when she took that final step into the Owlery, Audrey fell in love. She knew it immediately. It was a huge space, cavernous and open, and only if you craned your neck up could you see all the owls perched in their various nooks or ledges, some finding sunny spots created by the tower's many windows and skylights, some napping in the dappled shadows.

Audrey's cheeks tingled in the cool air of the Owlery. She felt like her brain was waking up for the first time since she'd set foot on the Hogwarts Express. Thank god. If only she could think clearly, then she could tackle anything. She could take on Hogwarts.

But how to summon an owl? Juliette had indicated that there were school owls that she could borrow to send a letter. Feeling foolish, Audrey cleared her throat and spoke uncertainly in the general direction of the owls. "Um, excuse me? Would any of you be willing to take a letter all the way to New York City? I know it's far away. But. It's for my mother and I'm new here and I'd really like her to get it." Audrey felt her throat tighten, as if tears were fighting with one another to spring up from her chest to her eyes.

After a moment's silence, a large golden brown owl fluttered down and landed on a wooden perch beside her. She looked into the owl's eyes, which were the color of maple syrup, and swore she could see kindness there. "Hi there," she ventured. "Do you have a name?" Maybe owls could speak here. Given everything else, it wouldn't be that crazy. But the owl just fluffed her feathers (Audrey was pretty sure it was a girl-owl) and sat patiently.

"I'm Audrey," Audrey persevered. "Let me just write out this note for my Mom, and then you can take it. That is, if you can go all the way to New York City?" It was crazy, but Audrey felt sure that the owl nodded.

She dug into the army navy bag she'd slung around her shoulder, pulling out a notepad and her fountain pen, and wrote:

 _Dear Mom,_

 _Everything is fine here. Different, but fine. Good even. I made a friend named Sybil. Classes haven't started yet, but they will today. The food here is delicious. But I miss our spaghetti dinners. Let's have some right away when I come home for vacation._

 _Could you send me Cat? There are no bedside clocks here and I really miss her._

 _Thanks Mom. Please give Dad and Jonah a hug for me. I promise I'll write again soon._

 _Love,_

 _Audrey_

She folded up the note and stuck it into a Keroppi envelope she had bought for the very purpose, sealed it closed, scribbled her NYC address on it (with an intense pang of longing as the image of their apartment block rose, unbidden, in her mind's eye) and then turned to the owl awkwardly. "Um, here," she gestured, having no real idea how to proceed. The owl flew down to the ground from her perch, and Audrey wondered if maybe she'd misunderstood completely and the owl had no intent of taking her letter to NYC. But then the owl waddled toward her with a piece of twine in her beak, and Audrey understood. She secured the note to the owl's foot, and smiled gratefully. "Thank you so much." The owl again seemed to nod back at her, and then took off into the air, flying up through one of the many skylights into the open air beyond.

Audrey had been planning on retracing her steps on the outside path so that she could then find her way to breakfast from the Hufflepuff basement, as they'd been instructed. But when she emerged from the stairwell to the Owlery, she heard in the distance the clattering of plates and the chattering of voices. And not only that, she could smell the aroma of toast toasting, and other scents too, cinnamon and oh, was that bacon?

Emboldened by the smells and sounds, and by her successful venture to the Owlery, Audrey followed the sounds (and her nose) deeper into the castle.

The hallways seems to meander and criss-cross illogically, and sometimes she'd swear she was going in circles. Hadn't she seen just seen that portrait of the little girl with her goats five minutes before? Yet the chatter kept getting louder and the smells more intoxicating, until she could all but taste the bacon crumbling in her mouth. She turned a corner (where two sets of armor seemed poised in endless but motionless battle), and she was sure that on the other side she'd find the dining hall. And yet inexplicably, without even exiting the hallway, Audrey somehow found herself stepping over the threshold of a small room. Books lined the walls, and the wooden floor was covered with an ornately patterned rug, woven in threads of wine and gold and green into the pattern of a forest. Half of the room was filled with a large, walnut wood table around which mismatched wooden chairs were clustered as if they themselves were people gathered for a meeting. Audrey walked the perimeter of the room, running her fingers along the spines of the books, and then curiosity took over and she pulled down a nice solid medium sized one, cracking open its spine. Blank. The pages were all blank. More curious still, she pulled down another book, opened it, and found that one blank too. Soon she had her arms full of books, everyone of them blank. What kind of place was this?

When she could hold no more books in her arms, she put them back, trying to remember where each one has come from. She was sure she was putting some of them back in the wrong place, but really if they were all blank what difference did it make? Her hands free again, she began to inspect the other parts of the rooms for clues as to its purpose. She sat down at the table and stared, her fingers running across the grains of the golden walnut wood. Her fingers traced what appeared to be an engraving; not a formal one, but the kind someone had etched with a pocket knife. DMS, it read. Wizarding graffiti? Someone's initials?

Into the silence of the room, Audrey's stomach grumbled (she hated how consistently it did that!) and she stood hastily, wondering how she could have so lost track of her task. She headed back to the hallway, but as she did, a small golden plaque caught her eye, gleaming from its place beside the door jam. She stopped just for one moment more to read it. "The Other Library," it said.

***

By the time Audrey finally found her way to the source of all the smells and noise, she was starving. She felt as empty and cavernous as the Owlery. She filled her plate with scones and eggs and bacon and also helped herself to a bowl of porridge, her mouth watering at each option. She spotted some of her Hufflepuff dorm mates, and took a seat with them, diagonal from Sybil. Sybil greeted her with such a bright smile that it reminded Audrey of the sunshine when she'd first stepped outside that morning. To her left, Lucinda Kindly surveyed Audrey's food selections with an eyebrow raised. "Hungry? Don't they feed you in America?" Audrey felt her face heat, but she ignored the comment in favor of crumbling off a corner of delightful scone, and taking a grateful, no, make that soulful, sip of milky sweet tea. The tea tasted like home. Like just the way her mother made it.

She was contemplating the shiny inner bottom of her now empty tea cup, considering a refill, when she heard a clatter from the far end of a nearby table. The room's busting chatter abruptly ceased at the noise, as she and most everyone else turned in its direction. A tray, tea cup, bowl, and cutlery were scattered to the ground, the cup rolling on a twisty journey before it settled a few feet from Audrey, a wet puddle of warm tea in its wake. Audrey looked from the teacup to the source of the disruption and saw Dashiell, rigid and pale, standing frozen, his body all tense, angry, miserable lines. After a moment that seemed to stretch out till paper thin, threatening to fragment as the tea cup thankful hadn't, Dashiell grabbed his bag, almost viciously, and stalked out of the Great Hall. He passed Audrey on his way to the big double doors, and for a burning moment their eyes caught. His were shining with unshed tears.

"He's going to have a time of it," said a voice to Audrey's right, sounding amused.

Audrey pivoted, steaming. "What do you mean by that?" she spat out. She found herself facing a boy with olive skin and chestnut brown curls.

The boy smiled at her and his teeth were blindingly white. "Just what I said. A boy like that, in Slytherin. It's not going to go well. And he doesn't look like the type to know his place."

"Know his place?" Audrey said disbelievingly. "Did you really just say that? Do you even hear yourself?"

He grinned self-deprecatingly. "Cool it, red. I didn't mean it like that. Just, a muggle born in Slytherin? If he wants to survive this place, he needs to lay low for a while. Not flaunt his comic books and then act like he's better than the pure bloods."

Audrey grasped her teacup in her hand. She wanted desperately to crack it over this boy's head, but she didn't. She silently patted herself on the back for her self control.

"You don't know him," she retorted instead. "You don't know what you're talking about. Who do you think you are?"

"Desi Mendoza, pleased to meet you, Red." He extended his hand in Audrey's direction. Audrey pointedly ignored the greeting. He withdrew his hand and continued on smoothly, "And I beg to differ. I do know some of what I speak. If that boy wants to get on here, he needs to make at least an effort to blend, for a little while at least, to get to know the school and our ways. And to show proper respect for the institution and its history and traditions. It wouldn't hurt you, either, you know," he said, glancing inexplicably down at Audrey's feet.

Audrey felt her face heat up as her temper rose. "Me?" She retorted. "Please, do tell me in what way I've offended the Hogwarts code."

"Well, your shoes, for one."

Audrey stared in confusion at her beloved, comfortable, worn in docs. "What's wrong with my shoes?"

"I'm sure they're quite fashionable in muggle circles," he said, but his tone suggested he doubted this was at all truth, "but they're not part of the Hogwarts uniform."

Audrey wanted to protest that no one had told her any uniform was required beyond the robe. She thought of her lucky t-shirt hidden under her robes and wondered if that too was forbidden. But she took a deep breath, and decided that this boy wasn't worth her time or energy. "Thank you for your input, Desi," she said coldly, trying to infuse his name with all the disdain she felt burning in her chest. She stood up, still clutching her tea cup, and made her way to the other end of the table, where the teapot beckoned, a benevolent excuse. She poured the sad last dregs of tea, wondering why tea wasn't magically refillable this morning as the pumpkin juice had been at the feast the night before. She made the best of what was left, adding as much milk as possible to fill up the cup, and made a big fuss of stirring it, inwardly counting to one hundred and praying that Desi Mendoza would get the message and leave. When she finally looked up, he had indeed wandered off and joined another cluster of students. Audrey took a newly empty space next to Sybil and sighed. It was going to be a long day. 


End file.
